N.B.A. Finals Game 1: Highlights and Analysis

Proving that depth truly matters, the Golden State Warriors survived subpar efforts from Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson to rout the Cleveland Cavaliers 104-89 thanks largely to a huge game from their bench.

Shaun Livingston led Golden State with a career playoff high of 20 points and seven Warriors players scored in double figures, thus living up to the team’s slogan of “Strength in Numbers”.

LeBron James had 23 points, 12 rebounds and 9 assists and Kyrie Irving had 26 points, but their bench got outscored 45-9, leaving them no chance of keeping up.

Neither team dominated behind the 3-point line, but the Warriors had huge advantages in terms of assists and limiting turnovers, which made the pedestrian performances by Curry (11 points) and Thompson (9) largely irrelevant.

With Game 2 set for Sunday night in Oakland, the Warriors will look to take a commanding two-game lead in their quest for back-to-back titles.